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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (15902)	11/11/2003 11:15:03 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793600

Keep the "personal" out, will ya, DMA? All these "Pros" tend to be "high-binders." Shum is no exception. ______________________________ In Middle of the Kerry Storm, a Man Known to Whirlwinds By DAVID M. HALBFINGER OS ANGELES, Nov. 11 — As Democratic strategists go, Bob Shrum has long been considered one of the heavyweights: a talented speechwriter, an expert at debate preparations, an ideologically committed liberal who has a knack for distilling the essence of a candidate's message into a slogan, sound bite or 30-second commercial. So in February, when Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts was riding high in the presidential preseason, seemingly well on his way to becoming the nominee, it was considered a coup when he added Mr. Shrum to a campaign team already crowded with consultants and advisers. Now, with Mr. Kerry's campaign battling for survival in New Hampshire and embroiled in turmoil and infighting — his press secretary and deputy finance director walked out the door on Tuesday, following the abrupt dismissal of his campaign manager — the talk is less about Mr. Shrum's gifts and more about what some are acidly describing, in this toxic environment, as the Shrum curse. As prominent and well-traveled a figure as Mr. Shrum is — alter ego to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, consultant to four presidential candidates and many senators — there is one thing he has never accomplished: advising a successful presidential campaign. Instead, he has become known as a polarizing figure who dominates and divides a staff, a relentless player of inside politics who will sometimes steamroll colleagues to win an argument, people who have worked with him for years say. To his credit, Mr. Shrum has been an adviser to several successful Senate campaigns. And the problems Mr. Kerry's campaign faces can hardly be ascribed to one consultant, particularly when his team includes so many. "Bob Shrum has been a friend of John Kerry's since he first got into politics, so they go back a long way," said former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mr. Kerry's campaign chairwoman. "I have found him to provide valuable input and to be one of the team in doing what's best for John Kerry and the Kerry campaign." But it is a measure of Mr. Shrum's impact that few believed Mr. Kerry when he denied to his staff that Mr. Shrum was behind the choice of a Kennedy confidante, Mary Beth Cahill, as his new campaign manager. Now that Ms. Cahill has replaced Jim Jordan, who clashed frequently with Mr. Shrum, these Kerry aides said that Mr. Shrum's views were likely to prevail. "He's not running it, but he's clearly the dominant voice and has the dominant say on strategy," a campaign official said. Mr. Shrum's influence can be seen in the campaign in ways large and small. It was in the turn of a phrase, when Mr. Kerry began talking in July about a "preparedness gap" in domestic security. More recently, he helped coin the line "real Democrats don't turn their backs on the middle class," which Mr. Kerry used as a jab at Howard Dean and Representative Richard A. Gephardt for supporting a repeal of some tax cuts that benefit middle-income families. It is also there in Mr. Kennedy's growing presence in Mr. Kerry's campaign; his former press spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, was named on Tuesday to replace Robert Gibbs. Perhaps not coincidentally, though, Mr. Kerry's was also the first presidential campaign to see an internal clash boil over into public view this year, and Mr. Shrum was at the center of it. REST AT nytimes.com

To: DMaA who wrote (15902)	11/12/2003 3:44:46 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793600

The Republicans "go to the mattresses." If this doesn't work, Daschle gets put in a boat with Fredo. ____________________________________________ GOP's all-nighter a filibuster buster By Charles Hurt Published November 12, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Republicans accused Democrats yesterday of obstructing vital Senate business, such as creating a prescription-drug benefit plan, developing an energy bill and passing crucial spending bills in its final sprint toward the end of this session. "We need to work efficiently, we need to work with a lot of focus, we need to stay on schedule," Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, said of the Senate's packed schedule between now and Nov. 21, the targeted adjournment date. "We can't have unnecessary delays if we are to complete the nation's business." So Mr. Frist scheduled 30 hours of debate, beginning tonight and running all day tomorrow, on a batch of President Bush's judicial nominations that has been filibustered, slow-walked or otherwise stalled in the Senate by a group of 45 unwavering Democrats. "Tomorrow, we're going to be starting what I call a reverse filibuster," said Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican and conference chairman. "We are going to do everything we can to do what they're doing." That includes hoping to catch Democrats asleep at their desks in the middle of the night to sneak a final vote on one of the nominees currently under filibuster. "We're going to the floor, we're taking opportunities — any opportunity," Mr. Santorum said. "They are forewarned: If the floor is not protected," the nominees will be put up for a final vote. Minority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat, and other leaders of the judicial nomination filibusters said the Republicans' 30-hour debate — complete with cots rolled in and all-night snacks and coffee — wastes valuable time that should be spent on backed-up Senate business. "Republicans are consumed by those four [judicial] jobs and ignore the three million jobs that we've lost over the course of the last three years under this administration's economic policies," Mr. Daschle said. Those four filibustered nominees to whom Mr. Daschle referred include Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen and federal district Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi, both nominated to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and Alabama Attorney General William H. Pryor, nominated to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. REST AT dynamic.washtimes.com